Crosslinked Polyarylene Ether Nitrile Interpenetrating with Zinc Ion Bridged Graphene Sheet and Carbon Nanotube Network

We report the fabrication and improved properties of crosslinked polyarylene ether nitrile (CPEN) interpenetrating with a zinc ion bridged graphene sheet (GS) and carbon nanotube (CNT) network (GS-Zn-CNT) (CPEN/GS-Zn-CNT). Graphene oxide (GO) and acidulated CNT were firstly prepared and then coordinated with zinc ions to form the zinc ion bridged GO and CNT network (GO-Zn-CNT). The mass ratio of GO and acidulated CNT in GO-Zn-CNT was controlled to be 1:3 and the optimized content of Zn(2+) was Zn(2+)/C = 0.01 mmol/mg (mole of zinc acetate/total weight of GO and acidulated CNT). Phthalonitrile end-capped polyarylene ether nitrile (PEN-Ph) permeated into the GO-Zn-CNT in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) and the corresponding composite PEN/GO-Zn-CNT was fabricated through the solution-casting method. After thermal annealing at 230 °C for 1 h and further curing at 320 °C for 2 h, the GO in GO-Zn-CNT was partly reduced into GS, and PEN-Ph was crosslinked, offering the CPEN/GS-Zn-CNT. The mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties of the obtained CPEN/GS-Zn-CNT were investigated in detail. The glass transition temperature, relative permittivity, and tensile strength of CPEN/GS-Zn-CNT with 2.0 wt % GS-Zn-CNT, compared to that of PEN, were increased by 18%, 181%, and 27%, respectively. The CPEN/GS-Zn-CNT based composite is a potential candidate as material in high performance electronic devices.